Was looking through some of the signings over the first few days of free agency, and noticed one that somehow slipped through the cracks (at least at ZoneBlitz HQ):

The Cleveland Browns signed Donte Stallworth to contract, reportedly worth $35 million over seven years, with $10 million guaranteed (although ProFootballTalk is reporting it as a five-year deal).

Compare that to the deal that Bernard Berrian got from the Vikings, reported at six-years for $42 million, with $16 million guaranteed.

So who got the better deal?

My gut instincts are telling me that the Browns did.  By far.

It seems like everyone was crowning Berrian as the second best WR on the market, after Randy Moss.  But why?

Compare their careers:
Donte Stallworth Career Stats
Bernard Berrian Career Stats

So basically, they’re the same age, although Stallworth has been in the league a couple years longer.  Stallworth was a first round pick, Berrian a third. 

Berrian had the much better 2007, with a career high 71 catches for 951 yards, compared to 46 and 697 for Stallworth.  But Stallworth was the #3 WR in a high powered offense, and was competing with Moss and Wes Welker (not to mention Kevin Faulk, Ben Watson, and at times for some reason Jabar Gaffney) for looks.

Stallworth’s career season was in 2005 with the Saints, almost an exact duplicate of Berrian’s career 2007–70 receptions for 945 yards. He was traded to the Eagles late in the preseason of 2006, missed a few games due to a nagging hamstring injury, and played with two different QBs due to Donovan McNabb’s injury, but still managed 725 yards on just 38 catches (an amazing 19.1 yards per catch average).  In six seasons, he’s never had fewer than 25 catches, while Berrian has had only two seasons out of four with more than 15 catches.

Looking at the potential impact of the two players, some think that Berrian will provide the Vikings a vertical passing game threat, which the team lacked due to Troy Williamson’s inability to catch the ball, and which will prevent defenses from putting eight men in the box to stop Adrian Peterson.  I’ve also seen claims that Berrian’s numbers would have been better if he’d had a better quarterback in Chicago.

Well, Tarvaris Jackson hasn’t exactly proven himself better than Rex Grossman/Brian Griese/Kyle Orton yet, and if he can’t deliver the ball downfield accurately, will defenses really start to respect the Vikings passing game?  At least the Vikings finally appear to have a trio of WR who could be worthy of starting an NFL team, if Sidney Rice can continue to develop and Bobby Wade is moved back to the slot. 

Meanwhile, Stallworth, who’s early career numbers certainly weren’t helped by playing with Aaron Brooks in New Orleans, will be lining up with the emerging Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow (if he can avoid spilling his motorcycle this offseason), meaning that teams will have to pick their posion in coverage (to a certain degree).  He will also be catching passes from either re-signed Derek Anderson, who has one solid season under his belt, or Brady Quinn, who hasn’t proven much, but looked solid last preseason, and was considered fairly polished coming out of school.

Add all of it up, and I think the Browns came out ahead.  Realistically, it’s very possibly they would have come out ahead regardless of whether they had signed Stallworth OR Berrian, given the talent they have to pair him up with (and when was the last time that could be said of the Browns?), but that they got their guy for significantly less money, significantly less guaranteed money, and (possibly) even a longer term, gives a huge edge to the Browns in this one.

Now I can only hope that my Vikings go out and prove me wrong.